Vision

Homeland(s)

Language(s)

Subraces

Contents

Devils had numerous forms but one organ called the ovatorium was shared by all of them. It was mushy and white organ consisting of sacs, inside of which were miniature versions of devil-forms. On promotion, meaning changing into a specific form, the corresponding sac's content grew until it burst through the skin of the old form and the promotion was done.[5]

Quite a lot of devils could see in darkness. Being able to see while lacking light was normal for outsiders.[6] The devils' case was different, because their vision could also penetrate magical darkness like that of deeper darkness. However, their senses had some peculiarities. They senses everything in a destructive and/or despairing light. For example, a flower looked wilted in some places no matter its health. They could well distinguish the smell differences between a cesspit and good perfume, but devils registered these differences not as one being more pleasant than the other but as one being less unpleasant than the other.[7]

Devils did not need to eat or drink. This did not mean they could not. To them eating and drinking were either a hobby, where fine food and drink was concerned, or a show of power and domination, when they were eating one of their enemies.[5]

The majority of devils started their life as dead mortals turned into lemures. Reproduction by sexual means was almost impossible for devils because female ones were not capable of becoming pregnant, with the exceptions being brachinas and erinyes. Male ones could father half-fiends. Other exceptions to this rule of female infertility were the unique devils. Among them, both male and female ones were fertile and a child between them was also a unique devil. However, this rarely happened for a child as powerful as a unique devil was a dangerous asset if it turned on its parents and infernal society did not create stable relationships of loyalty between parents and children. A third group of devils came spontaneously into being from the plane or part of Baator. A fourth category, that of erinyes, they were fallen angels.[8]

In general, sexuality was enjoyed more like a hobby by devils and among them far more often by the powerful than the weak.[5]

A devil that died on Baator was truly dead.[9] When a devil died outside of Baator, it turned over three to nine minutes into some slimy substance that was mildly poisonous but not lethally so, if somebody came up with the idea to eat it. On Baator, the killed devil came back. Fully recovered and in the form it was killed in. However, it took them ninety-nine years until they took their old form. Quite often, especially when the devil in question was of low rank, demotion awaited the slain devil.[7]

Devils had eternal life in eternal youth. A devil that did not look healthy was either under some curse, supernatural disease, or was somehow cut off from a sufficient supply of divine energy.[7]

One way to kill them was to somehow cause them to suffocate for devils needed, in very small amounts but still, oxygen to live on.[5]

Devils were bullies. They were vicious creatures who were capable of attacking and killing people for essentially no reason.[4] However, they hated being the target of misery themselves.[5] This led to another trait of theirs, their extreme vindictiveness combined with a lack of ability to accept their mistakes. Devils had an instinct to look for other people to blame when they suffered a setback and had drive to plan plans to exact vengeance against whomever they held responsible even when they were demoted to a weaker station. This could take a lot of time. For example, the grandson or granddaughter of some dead person who was indirectly involved in the demotion of devil was an eligible target for the demoted devil even after it managed to be re-promoted.[10]

Devils often delegated their work to others.[11] This did not mean that they were lazy people, the primary personality trait of any devil was ambition. They constantly looked for ways for promotion. The goal behind this behavior was the fulfilment of the devil's own desires. They tried to rise up the hierarchy to modify rules in ways that suited them. This was the root of their dedication to the cause of lawful evil.[5]

They had some tendency to act on emotion, especially when faced with the prospect of vengeance, and with enough provocation, could be made to act in ways that were detrimental to their ultimate goal up to death in pursuit of vengeance.[5]

Devils often had magical abilities. A large number of devils had an aura of fear, which they used to split enemy groups apart. Most devils had some kind of illusion abilities, which were used to sow confusion among their enemies. A common use of these illusory powers was to create illusory support for themselves. They abused their enemies' inability to distinguish between illusory and real summoned support.[4] A devil with divine magic was usually not a priest of a god but somebody who received the necessary magic from Asmodeus or one of the archdevils.[5]

Devils were at a stark numerical disadvantage in the Blood War. The devils' advantages were their equipment, morale, and tactics, the last was helped not just by the fact that devils were the best military strategists in existence but also by the lack of discipline among the demons and their disastrous incompetence at planning. All in all, the victory-defeat ratio of the devils was about 50:50.[9]

As mentioned above, devils were at a severe numerical disadvantage against the demons. So, they developed a number of strategies to fight against them, which were also used against others. First, devils never fought on Baator when they could help it. The reason for this was that they would actually die if they died on Baator. Second, a lot of devils had the ability to use greater teleport. They made frequent use of hit-and-run-tactics using this ability. In general, they attacked a group of enemies, teleported away, healed themselves, and started anew.[12]

Against Demons

Devils were immune to fire. One common tactic that was developed against demons was heavy use of fire, so much that the battlefield was filled with the—for devils—harmless fire. This was done by any means available, be it through the use of innate abilities or learnt magical abilities of a sorcerer or wizard.[5]

Against Angels

When fighting angels or archons, devils with the ability to fly took the lead. An often used tactic was to use special tanglefoot bags on the good creatures to make them drop to the ground where earth-bound devils ganged up on them. They made use of fire against angels and archons in ways that were similar to the devils' anti-demon tactic, which was a very effective way to fight the good outsiders.[5]

Protecting Records

Devils, no matter the rank, were record-keepers. They wrote records to show their high-ups how good their qualities and results were. They did this even while being on the Prime. This meant that an outlining of whatever plan they were concocting on the Prime was on the Prime. Devils took some pains to protect this information from falling into the hands of opposing factions. This included ways to destroy the records to prevent leaking and a devil fought in particularly tenacious fashion to protect or retrieve the records.[13]

Protecting Wealth

Material wealth was, compared to souls, of no meaning to devils if it did not further their goals. Therefore, devils were willing to give up on material wealth, even wealth they owned, when it allowed them to evade trouble. However, there was one exception to this rule, devils beholden to Mammon. These devils saw worth in material wealth and were willing to take risks to protect unlike their brethren.[14]

The vast majority of devils were baatezu. They lived in strict caste society. Devils continuously tried to improve their station in life. The measure by which promotion was granted was the number of mortals swayed to corruption.[4] The swayed mortals' souls were the source of energy on which the devils' society was built on.[15] The Pact Primeval, a contract between Asmodeus and gods, was the legal basis on which the devils' right to corrupt mortals was based on.[10]

The devils' economy primarily worked on souls that provided their world with energy. In order to change a soul's destination from the Fugue Plane to Baator, they corrupted mortals while they were still alive. Once they died, they were collected and tortured. This torture was done to wring out magical energy from the soul and once every single drop was wrung out, the soul was reborn as a lemure, a new member of infernal society.[15]

Other Currency

The devil's economy primarily ran on souls, but money, precious metals, other goods were not ignored and used for trade, but devils saw no intrinsic value in these goods. Their value lay in their use to gain souls. For example, devils required money to finance their actions on the Material Plane. Starting with financing cults, they needed currency to pay off officials, pay for services like assassinations, simply to pay for goods. Among the goods they bought were the souls of people who sold theirs for money, information, magic, or other goods. Among the offered goods to the mortals were the devils' service to the mortals. Devils funneled the money they obtained into Baator, so it could be distributed to others or used it for their own projects. The former methods garnered them credits that could eventually lead to promotion.[16]

The devils had a number of castes. At the bottom of the hierarchy were the least devils. They were treated badly by all others and the numbers of advancement opportunities were very limited. Above the least were the lesser devils. Generally, they were employed in the soul trade, a field where advancement opportunities were numerous. Above the least were the greater devils headed by the pit fiends. They were the ones who held a high degree of authority in the infernal society. However, they were not the top. That position was held by the archdevils who were directly served by unique devils holding the title of duke.[17] Among the Lord of the Nine, Asmodeus, the top of that group, was a class onto himself.[18]

As a general rule, as higher a devil stood as more chances for further advancement existed. However, as higher a devil stood as more oversight a devil had to suffer more oversight at the hands of its superiors and with it were more exposed to the prospect of punishment and demotion. As a result, high-ranking devils were fearful of demotion and vented their fears on their subordinates in a violent manner. This made said subordinates act in a similar maner towards their subordinates and so on until the literal bottom of the hierarchy was met.[17]

When a devil managed to corrupt a mortal, his or her soul landed in Baator on death. Such souls had a unique mark that could be attributed to the devil that was then credited with the corruption of the mortal.[15] Accruing these credits was basis for a devil's promotion.[19] Another form of accruing credits was to provide Baator with material goods. This form of gaining credits was not held as high as providing Baator with souls but devils who were looking for ways to improve their résumé did this nonetheless.[15]

Promotion

Promotion, meaning transformation from one devil form to a higher one, was done when a devil's superior thought that it merited promotion, the superior's superior could reverse the decision any time. However, the promotion within least devil-status was very rarely intervened for it was considered to low a station to be concerned with. Promotion to any of the lesser devil-status required the promoted devil's greater devil superior to agree with it, while promotion to greater devil-status required the archdevil the promoted devil served to agree. When the devil was somehow not sure which archdevil it was serving, Asmodeus was considered the default lord to report to. Rising to the status of a unique devil required the agreement of an archdevil, to become a normal duke being a pit fiend was enough. To become an archdevil, Asmodeus needed to agree to the promotion.[20]

The standards a devil needed to meet to be promoted was to show loyalty to its superior and its performance in its duties. The former was valued higher than the latter. The devils considered someone who was competent enough to do its job but who was at the same time not a danger to its superior's position an ideal subordinate. Due to this reason, high-ranking devils tried to maintain comparatively few subordinates, lest the number would exceed their ability to keep tabs on them to prevent treasonous activities. Combined with the fact that promotion was combined with spending a lot of power harvested from souls, the upper rung of infernal hierarchy was comparatively stable. Normally, promotion was done when there a position became free. This happened when a devil died or was demoted. Some devils tried to facilitate the former, which was punished with death, and therefore carried a lot of risks. Another valid method for devils was to wait until the latter happened. That said, successful devils promoted more frequently and to new positions they created to fill management positions.[21]

Demotion

Every devil was entitled to demote a devil that was its subordinate. Asmodeus could demote any devil he wanted, an archdevil was allowed to demote an devil that could trace a line of authority back to the archdevil that wanted to demote somebody, and a greater or lesser devil was only allowed to demote those that were under its direct command.[22]

That said, demotions were generally not done out of a whim. They were usually a form of punishment. Demotion to nupperibo-status was the most dreaded one. However, there was one reason to demote somebody that was not a form of punishment. As mentioned above, promotion required the expenditure of a lot of energy, demotion freed energy to be used for something else. Devils whose operations did not work as intended, tried to collect additional energy for their work by demoting its subordinates. This prospect of demotion for energy-harvest purposes was a great motivator for devils to work hard.[10]

Lateral Demotion

A unique form of demotion that existed within infernal society was the one called lateral demotion. There were a few forms within the infernal hierarchy that were technically fairly high in the hierarchy but were not very popular among the devils. These forms came with immense physical but negligible mental capabilities making it difficult for them to advance further. As a general rule, devils wanted to gain positions that allowed them to have a keen mind over physical strength with a dull mind. Being advanced to such a form was called lateral demotion.[10]

The reason why lateral demotion was done for various reasons. First, from time to time, there was genuine need for physically strong servants. Second, lateral demotion allowed a superior to effectively put a problematic subordinate temporarily out of the game, as one might imagine, it was often a means used against subordinates who were suspected of treason. It allowed the superior to confirm its suspicions and kill the traitor or confirm that they held no water and revert the promotion, thus allowing the superior the excuse that it never treated its subordinates in any unfair manner. It was a generally accepted excuse, albeit grudgingly.[10]

As mentioned above, devils coveted mortal souls. They consistently tried to change a mortal's ethical and moral outlook into that of a lawful evil person. When the person died in that state, that mortal's soul went to Baator and the devil who had the biggest hand in the mortal's outlook's change got the credit for it. When a devil managed to change a mortal's outlook, it often tried to organize the death of that person. The reason for this were twofold. First, that way, the mortal died, his or her soul went to Baator and the devil got its credit without waiting the mortal's lifespan expired. Second, that way, the devil also killed the possibility of the mortal's outlook changing again into some other outlook, which would shunt his or her soul into some place that was not Baator, thus depriving the devil of its credit. However, on macro level devils needed mortals. They were useful to change the outlook of their fellows as well as to pursue other infernal agendas on the Prime for Baator. Therefore, devils needed to acquire permission to kill somebody to send his or her soul to Baator for each and every case.[19]

There were various methods to gain credits for a devil:

Hunting Grounds

The vast majority of souls that came to Baator did not go there, because a devil changed the mortals' outlook to that of a lawful evil person but because they had it to begin with. Devils organized Prime territories in so-called "hunting grounds". Every hunting ground had a devil who was assigned to it. These devils held the title undercontroller or factotum when the hunting ground teemed with lawful evil people, which was a coveted assignment only those favored by the archdevils received. Every soul that went to Baator without another devil swaying that mortal to lawful evil was accredited to the undercontroller. An undercontroller had two jobs.[23]

First, devils had a tendency for infighting when the prize was a particularly lawful evil people rich hunting ground. The undercontroller's job in that regard was to keep the place under the control of its direct superior. When mortals and lesser devils fought each other, the reason was usually two undercontrollers who were assigned the same hunting ground by different superiors over who the say over the turf. This happened when a high-standing devil wanted to relegate trouble-makers. The idea behind it was that when the trouble-maker died fighting over turf, the trouble-maker was dead, and when the trouble-maker was successful at nailing the hunting ground, then it was a win for the superior for the total number of souls its subordinates gained for Baator increased and with its own standing.[23]

The second job of an undercontroller was to secure that a lawful evil society stayed that way[11] or steered into lawful evil directions. They did this by modifying customs and rules of their hunting grounds. When a given society showed traits of one where authority was unconditionally respected, who then enforced a police state where laws were enforced with draconian punishment, where brutally honest records were the norm, while at the same time the ruler was not subject to the same rules was most likely a hunting ground where the responsible devil did an effective job. Other traits that led to the same conclusion were when the general population believed in a form of collective thinking that led to disadvantaging or hostilities to minorities and the idea that their system was not just superior, but also needed to be enforced on others. Devils had an infinite lifespan, which allowed them for plans to take a very long time until the modification of a society was complete.[24]

Undercontrollers were often absentee-lords and did not spend a lot of tim on the Prime. They split their assigned territory giving the richest parts to their own subordinates who showed particular loyalty. Territory handed over that way could be broken down into even more parts and given to eve lower ranking devils when it was big enough.[11]

Fugue Plane-Bargains

The usual destination for a dead person's soul was the Fugue Plane. Due to a deal with Kelemvor, devils were allowed to talk with the souls in the time between their arrival to the Fugue Plane and being picked up by their deities' servants to their final destination. The content of these talks was an offer to change the final destination to Baator. Some souls agreed to this because they feared the fate their gods would give them, went to Baator, got tortured and wrung out of energy, and started their new life as a lemure. It was also possible for such souls to work out additional goods for themselves. For example, a-not-so-egoistic deal was to secure that the bereaved family of the soul was provided for by the devil, while a more egoistic deal was to secure early promotion from lemure status or promotion right away into some other devil form.[17]

The devils' society was built with two main activities in its mind: gaining souls to harvest energy and fighting the Blood War. On the infernal side, Avernus was the primary battle ground. Fighting the Blood War was the other occupation devils could pursue for their careers. Those who fought in the Blood War were exempt from meeting any quota of souls and could still receive promotions by virtue of their military deeds. There was something of a rivalry between soul harvesters and Blood War veterans. The former claimed superiority because it was the energy they harvested that allowed the latter to fight at all, while the latter claimed superiority because the leisure to harvest souls at all was guaranteed by the veterans. Among unique devils, only Bel was continuously engaged in the Blood War for fighting it was considered necessary but not interesting enough for them to do.[25]

The devils winning condition regarding defending Baator from the demons was to keep Avernus from falling into their hands. The reason for this was that the entire plane of Baator had a magical condition that made it impossible for demons to teleport from one layer to the next. So, the demons needed to take one layer at a time to win and reconsecrate the entire thing before moving on. Keeping Avernus from them, prevented this from happening.[24]

As mentioned above, devils picked up eating and drinking good food and drink or sexuality as some form of hobby. They could not get drunk or otherwise alter their minds with substances. It was also not well-seen. However, there were a number of magical substances that were imbibed as a substitute for drugs, gughalaki made in Maladomini from fiendishgiant centipedes was basically drunken as a hallucinogen, infernal wine made in Phlegthos from grapes was drunken like wine, and Screecher some stuff that had a dulling effect on low-ranking devils were some examples.[8]

As mentioned above, getting drunk or otherwise taking mind-altering substances was not well-seen and often outright forbidden. The aforementioned substances were usually handed to devils as a form of rewards or in the context of rituals. The one group of devils that had the position to take these substances on any regular basis were high-ranking devils. However, this was acknowledged as hypocritical for they were the same ones who forbade it to their subordinates.[7]

Some deities lived on Baator. While fights between infernal forces and that of evil gods' happened from time to time, they generally were not on the level of the battles between Baator and the Abyss. The reason for this was that both Baator and the deities had an additional enemy in the form of the forces of good and resolving this conflict was a matter that was to be done after the forces of good were done away with.[21] Ultimately, devils considered gods, including lawful evil ones, not as something inherently worth showing deference to. In fact, for the devils gods were targets to be destroyed, just not high enough of a priority to do so immediately.[5]

Demons

Devils fought against the demons in the Blood War. Collectively, devils called the demons tanar'ri ignoring that the tanar'ri were but one of the demonic races.[24]

Mortals

The devils' overlord Asmodeus understood that the devils were essentially only force that kept the multiverse from being overrun by demons and hated the beings of the Upper planes for leaving his people alone at fighting the demons. One of the few allies devils managed to get on their side were mortal members of infernal cults.[9]

According to one origin story, the devils were originally angels that were created to fight for the cause of law against demons for the deities for they wanted to do something else than fighting the fiends. The most effective at it was an angel called Asmodeus. Those angels who followed that one were the future devils.[26]